James T. Crawford, 81, BGE manager, veteran

December 01, 2004

James T. Crawford, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. manager, died of multiple organ failure Nov. 24 at Howard County General Hospital. The Glenwood resident was 81.

Mr. Crawford was born and raised in Charleston, W.Va., and earned a bachelor's degree from Morris Harvey College in Barboursville, W.Va. He also was a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art.

After serving as a boatswain's mate in the Navy from 1940 to 1947, Mr. Crawford began working in the late 1940s in the advertising department of the Charleston Gazette. He moved to Baltimore in the early 1950s, taking a job as an ad salesman for The Sun.

In 1955, he joined BGE, and a decade later was named director of the company's merchandise department, where he oversaw the operation of 13 retail appliance stores. He retired in 1988.

He was a founder in the early 1980s and later served as president of the National Association of Merchandising Utilities.

A longtime resident of Crofton, he moved to Glenwood in 2001. He was a 50-year member of the Masons' Collington Lodge. He enjoyed golfing and was a member of Crofton Country Club.

He was a member of Crofton United Methodist Church and, since 2001, of Glenelg United Methodist Church.

Services were private.

Surviving are his wife of 23 years, the former Joan George; two sons, Daniel T. Crawford of Lutherville and Steven J. Crawford of Atlanta; two daughters, Suzanne C. Broyles of Homestead, Fla., and Eileen J. Fitzgerald of Towson; a stepdaughter, Valerie Deitrick of Glenwood; and seven grandchildren. His first marriage ended in divorce.